Lock for automobile steering mechanism



' J. MARSEL.

LocK Foa AUTOMOBILE summa MEcHAmsM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2,"192VI.

2 SHEETS-SHEET i.

Patented De ,/af/ duseph Mar5El- I. MARSH..

LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILE STEERING IVIECHANISIVI. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2. 192|.

A o 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented B60211921.

tls

JGSEPH MARSEL, 02E' MLWAUKEE, lSCNSIN.

toon non AUTOMOBILE sfrnnnrne rencnmrrsnr.

Application led .une 2,

To all whom t may concern-f Be it known that l, Josnrrr Mensili., a citizen of the United States, and resident ot' Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of wll/visconsin, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Locke for [automobile Steering Mechanism; and l do hereby declare that the following is a iull, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention has for its object to proy vide a simple, economical and elective lock for the steering gear of a motor driven vehicle. I

'llhe specific object of my invention 1S to provide the wheel shalt with a. head carrying a series or' locking,` disks of the per mutation type, and an open ended hollow hub for the Wheel, loosely mounted upon the head carrying,q means for picking up the tumblers together with a` locking plunger, lwhereby the wheel can be disconnected from the head and locked thereto aiter a series ot rotary operations to adjust the tumblers set upon a predetermined combination, similar in operation to a standard combination lock.

'W ith the above and other minor objevts in view, the invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, as are hereinafter set Jforth with reference to the accompanying drawinggs and subsequently claimed.

, l'n the drawings:

Figure l represents a. plan view ot' a locking' mechanism embodying the features or' my invention, with parts broken away and in section to show structural features.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view ot the saine, the section being; indicated by line 2--2 oit Fig. l.

` Fig. 3 is a pla-n sectional view, the seetion being' indicated by line 3 -3 ot Fig. 2.

Fig. a is another plan sectional view, the

plane of' the same being indicated by, line 4%4 of Fig'. 2, and

Fig'. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional plan view of the locking plunger actuating; mechanism.

Referring by characters to the drawings, l represents the wheel or actuatingJ sha-ft of a. standard steeringI gear mechanism,

lwhich shaft has rigidly secured thereto a head 2 provided with an upperI flange diall 2"., The head isv secured against lateral movement upon the shaft by its engagement Specification of Letters latent.

Patented 2?, 11921.

1921. serial no. 474,ee1.

with the upper end of the shaft housing? il and the dial is countersinik for the rec tion of a nut. Ll, which is in threaded unitn` with the shaft and thereby binds the head firmly, it being understood that the nut is countersunk so as to eliminate the possibility ot' convenient access thereto, whereby the parts might, under certain conditions, be tampered with. The head has loosely mounted thereon a series of disks 5, which are provided with the usual notches 5 that are adapted to be alined, when the mechanism is set for a locking' operation. The disks are also provided. with standard pick-up lugs (5, which operate successively to aline the vdisks iu the usual manner pertaining to such combination locks.

lotatably mounted upon the head 2, is a hollow wheel hub 7, which wheel hub is open at its top end and adapted to be closed by 'the flange dial 2., rlhe hub is also provided with a lateral plunger receiving' mouth 8., which mouth is closed by a cap il, the same being secured to the walls ot the hub by .means or concealed rivets SV, whereby the possibility of removingv the cap is eliminated. Thewheel hub also carries a pick-up finger (Y, which is arranged to engage the iup' (l ot' the lowerniost disk series, whereby the said disks are rota-ted back and 'forth when the hub is revolved to thus set the combination, Ait being' understood, as best shown in Fig. 1, that the flange dial is provided with series ot'indices X which are operated Jfrom a- Zero mark jl/ impressed within the face ot the wheel hub. ln order to prevent dropping of the wheel hub from its engaged position with the flange dial, l provide an annular groove l() in the lower portion of the head 2 ijor ,th re rption ot' a threaded pin lll, whichA isgcsilried by a luer that extends from the bottom wall ot the hub and which pin is adapt-odg to enter the annulaigroove. Hence, independent movement of the head with/relation to the hub is obtained, while these parts are held in their proper endwise relation.

The head 2 is also provided with alined locking apertures 2", which apertures are adapted to receive companion locking ,plungers 11 that are connected by a tongue l2. The locking plungers are reciprocatively mounted in recesses 9 formed'inthe freight).`

` The cap is also provided lwith a central cirand properly aline their notches 5 with the cular opening 13 for the reception of a. ro-

tary sleeve 14. The sleeve is provided with a semi-circular slot 14 into which slot is fitted a pin 15 that extends through the cap, whereby-said sleeve is permitted to rot e approximately a half revolution, but is held against lateral movement in the opening.'

The sleeve is also provided with a semi-circular spiral slot 16. The spiral slot 16 constitutes-a cam that is engaged by a pin 17 that extends from a plug 18, which plug is secured to and forms part of the tongue 12,

the same being extended rearwardly into the thimble- 14. As shown in Figf, vthere is interposed'between the end of the plug and a knurled head 11W-of the thimble a coil spring 19, the same serving to'spread they telescopic parts andto take up play therein. The spring also serves to force the locking plungers 11 into engagement with the locking apertures 2..of the head When the cam slot is rotated in one direction by manipulating the'knurled head 14;". V I

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that when it is desired to prevent epe-rating the motor driven machine, the steering wheel is disconnected from theshaft, 1 in such way that it will revolve loosely upon its bearings. 1n this loose position, the plungers 11 will be retracted, due to a partial ro- .tation of the'sleeve, whereby the cam slot 16 will draw the plungers clear of their locking. apertures, and hold theni. in such position as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. When it is desired to lock the steering mechanism so that it will function, the operator knowing the combination of the permutation lock, will rotate the Wheel back and forth, so as to successively pick up the disks tongue 12 of the associated plungers 11. When the -parts are in this position, the tongue 12 is alined so that it will enter the disk notches and thereby permit the plungers 11 to engage' the locking` vapertures 2". Hence, the operator simply rotates the sleeve 14 .by manipulating the. knurled head 1 4', whereby the cam slot and :its pin connection with the plug 18 will positively shift the locking plungers into engagement with their associated sockets. The Wheel hub being tlius locked to the steering gear shaft 1, the

parts are obviously in position to lfunction in the ordinary manner.

As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the

Wheel is illustrated as having attached there-` that I may vary the structural features withy in the scope of the claims.

I claim? I 1. A` steering gear lock comprising an actuatingshaft, a. head secured thereto having a locking aperture therein, a dial iange extending from its upper end, notched tumbler disks rotatably mounted upon the head, an open ended hollow wheel hub loosely, mounted upon the head, the open end of the yhub being closed by the dial disk, a pickup finger carried by the hub for actuating the series of disks, a plunger' carried by the hub for engagement with the locking aperture ofthe head, a tongue extending from the plunger adapted to enter the disk notches, a plug extending rearwardly from the tongue having a lateral pin extension, and a ro-A tary sleeve mounted in the hub having a cam slot for engagement with the plug pin.

2. A steering gear lock comprising an actuating shaft, a head secured thereto having locking apertures therein, a dial flange extending from its upper end, notched tumbler disks -rotatably mountedupon the head, an open ended hollow Wheel hub loosely mounted upon the head, the open end of the hub being closed by the dial dis-k,a pick-up finger carried by the hub for actuating the series ofv disks, a pair' of locking plungers 1 ,reciprocatively mounted in the huby and adapted to engage the locking apertures, a rotary actuating sleeve jouifnaled in the hub, th'e sleeve having a cam slot therein` means for holding the sleeveagainst endwise movement, a tongue connecting the plungers, a4 lug extending from the tongue in telescopic union with the-sleeve and a pin projerting from the lug for engagement with the sl cove cam slot.

In testimony that 1 claim the foregoingl have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee. in the county of Milwaukee and State of '\Visconsin.

' .iosnru Manset. 

